Music with Eddie Rowley

JENNIFER NETTLES of Sugarland, who will play the Country to Country festival at Dublin’s 3Arena on Friday, March 9, is a lady with a hilarious sense of humour.

At the age of 43, Nettles says she’s still enjoying strutting her stuff on stage in hot outfits.

“I’m doing this now because soon my neck is going to be hanging where my cleavage should be,” Jennifer laughs.

Nettles leads a busy life these days, juggling her music career with her role as the mother of a five-year-old son.

“You are trying to balance being an individual, being a mother and being all the roles that women are called on to be and to play, and to do so gracefully and to pretend that we like it all and to act like it’s easy,” she says. Being a country star on the move also adds to the pressures of domestic life. “The travel component is such a big challenge if you are a woman who has a family,” Jennifer admits.

However, despite the downsides that go with a hectic life on the road, Nettles admits the thrill of the performance makes it all worthwhile.

“There’s a reason why everybody doesn’t do this and it’s because it’s hard work. You have to love it to do it. It has to be in you and for me, it’s a calling. I think performers are compelled to do it. Anything worth having is worth doing the hard stuff for, and we can do hard things.

“I’m a travelling musician who pays her bills through music and art, and I feel super blessed. If you had told me as a 10-year-old girl that this is what you are going to be doing for all your adult life, I wouldn’t have believed it.”